


Too Long (We've Been Denying)

by orphan_account



Category: RWBY
Genre: Agender Character, Coming Out, Established Relationship, M/M, Post You and Me (and Everyone in Between)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 19:20:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9339470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: James and Qrow visit Ozpin’s house, the morning after Blake’s birthday, for tea. Ozpin tells them something that’s been bottled up inside for too many years.





	

**Author's Note:**

> You asked, and you shall receive. This fic takes place the day after You and Me (and Everyone in Between) ends and yes, it is the Ozpin coming out to James and Qrow fic. You should probably read You and Me (and Everyone in Between) first. Not gonna lie.

James shrugged on the lighter of his two winter coats and checked his watch again. If Qrow didn’t hurry, they were going to be late to Ozpin’s. James wasn’t sure why Penny was so insistent that he and Qrow were on time – she hadn’t elaborated beyond ‘Ozpin has something to tell you’ – and while he had his suspicions, insofar as he could have suspicions about things he had little experience with, he had nothing concrete to go on.

“Qrow!” called James, checking his watch for the fifth time in two minutes. He leaned against the door and looked up the stairs, lips pursed and arms loosely folded. He wondered if it would be like this if Qrow ever wanted to move in – James on time and Qrow lingering behind, late, while the girls were off at school.

Winter was out looking for work this morning and Blake was with Tukson, working on correspondence work so she could attend senior year with Yang in the fall. He wasn’t sure how well that would go, with Blake having been out of traditional schooling for almost four years, but he suspected that so long as she had a decent support system, she’d be fine.

“Qrow!” called James again.

Qrow appeared at the top of the stairs and jogged down them, buttoning up his shirt as he went. “Sorry,” he said. “If someone hadn’t thrown my shirt on the _ceiling fan_ last night, maybe I wouldn’t be so late.”

“You could have gotten another shirt. Don’t you have three here?” asked James, handing Qrow his coat. Qrow shrugged the coat on and rolled his eyes before stuffing his feet in his shoes.

“This one’s my favourite,” said Qrow, gesturing to the two-tone grey before zipping up his coat.

James raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t the other two the exact same shirt?” asked James.

Qrow waved him off. “Details. Besides, the other two are… somewhere.” He grimaced. “Should probably find them, that’s half of my shirts.”

“Three?”

“Two,” said Qrow, rubbing the back of his neck, looking sheepish.

James sighed. “Remind me to take you clothes’ shopping,” he muttered. He opened the door and gestured for Qrow to go first, following behind him and locking the door behind him.

As the two walked up the hill toward Ozpin’s house, Qrow stuffed his hands in his pockets and asked, “So, what’s this about anyway? Oz putting us in his will or something?”

James chuckled. “No, nothing like that. I think he just has something he wants to talk about.”

Qrow cocked his head and raised his eyebrows as he looked over at James. “Any idea what?”

“Not really,” said James. “Ozpin has always been… odd. For all I know, we could be talking about his time in the military.”

Qrow straightened, looking curious. “Oz was military?”

“For… ten years?” guessed James, tilting his head as he tried to remember. “Yes, I think it was ten years. That’s part of why we get along so well, actually. Something to relate with each other.” He shrugged. “He was special forces, from what I remember, largely stealth and largely classified.” James thought of the scars Ozpin had, and how he had no qualms about wearing clothes that showcased them. Or the tattoos, for the matter.

Ozpin’s tattoos were one of the few things that got more looks in this neighbourhood than James’ arm and hand, back when everything had first started. James had always been grateful Ozpin wore short sleeved t-shirts back when James had first started trying not to wear his glove. It had taken the attention from him for the most part.

“Explains why he’s so weird,” said Qrow, looking up to the cloudless sky. He pulled his arms from his pockets and folded them behind his head.

“That’s—” started James, but he stopped and grimaced, rubbing his face with his left hand. Both were gloved, for the cold, a rare enough occurrence that it had taken him a minute to find a pair of gloves that actually matched. “You’re not wrong,” muttered James.

Qrow chuckled and nudged James as they crested the hill. James rolled his eyes and nudged him back, leading Qrow up the steps to Ozpin’s door. He knocked and jumped a second later when there was a crash from inside.

The two men looked at each other, both concerned and confused.

“You think he’s okay?” asked Qrow.

“I have no idea,” said James. Before James had time to ponder whether or not he should try the door to see if Ozpin was okay, the door opened and Ozpin appeared.

“Hello,” said Ozpin. His smile was tight and he gripped the door with one hand until his knuckles turned white. “Come in.” He stepped back from the door, and James saw that Ozpin’s hands were trembling as he stuffed them in his pockets.

He was wearing a green button-up with the sleeves pushed up and James saw Qrow’s gaze trace the vines that wrapped around the various song birds up Ozpin’s arm.

Ozpin didn’t offer any explanation, just gestured for James and Qrow to follow. He kept fiddling with his hands – running them through his already mused hair and stuffing them in his pockets before pulling them out again. He rolled his shoulders, cleared his throat, and stayed ahead of James and Qrow, partially hunched over and not saying a word.

James and Qrow exchanged a look. Qrow raised an eyebrow; James shrugged. He didn’t know either.

“Tea?” asked Ozpin as the three stepped into the kitchen.

“Coffee, if you have it,” said Qrow. He took a seat at one of the stools and James leaned against the counter next to Qrow, arms folded on the cool marble as he leaned forward and watched Ozpin make coffee. The shaking remained in his hands and, whenever he partially turned toward the pair, James could see that the tremble was mirrored in Ozpin’s lower lip.

When he set down the coffee in front of Qrow and James, Ozpin wouldn’t look at either of them. His gaze remained firmly on the mug of tea he had made for himself, which he had cradled in both hands.

“How’re you both doing?” asked Ozpin, gaze darting up to the pair from behind their glasses.

“Fine,” said Qrow.

“I’d ask you the same,” said James, leaning forward. “Ozpin, what’s wrong? You seem troubled.”

Ozpin shrugged, not looking at either of them once again. The movement was jerky and uncharacteristic. All of Ozpin’s serenity and sometimes eerie calm had completely drained out of him. It had been replaced by something else entirely. Something infinitely more anxious and unwilling to be talked about.

“Oz,” said James. He reached forward and Ozpin pulled his hand back, pressing his lips together. James sighed and tried a different angle. “Penny said you had something you wanted to tell me?”

“Yes,” said Ozpin. He swallowed visibly and took a breath. “I…” He faltered, grimaced, shook his head. “I…” He sighed. “I can’t do this.” He got to his feet, shoving away his tea, and walked toward the window on the far side of the kitchen, hugging himself.

Qrow frowned. “Hey, what’s going on? You’re usually the calm one out of us.”

“This is different,” said Ozpin, tightly. He was clenching his arms so tightly that his knuckles had turned white and his lips were pressed tightly enough that they had turned the same colour. “I’ve been trying for _years_ —” His voice cracked and he broke off, shaking his head.

“Ozpin,” said James, getting to his feet. He took a moment and organized his thoughts, his suspicions, before continuing. “Is this about Halloween?”

Ozpin closed his eyes and nodded shakily. “Yes.”

James crossed the kitchen and hesitantly rested his hand on Ozpin’s shoulder. “I have Penny for a daughter, Ozpin. Whatever you want to tell me, I’m not in any place to judge, and you know I won’t. I don’t think Qrow will either.”

“It’s different,” murmured Ozpin, “when you’re my age.”

“I don’t think so,” said James. “I think you can figure out who you are at any age.”

Ozpin sighed and slumped toward James. With eyes now opened, Ozpin said, “I’m not… transgender. Not the way Penny is, at least, and I don’t think of myself as being as such. But… I suppose the two communities are often intertwined and lumped together?” Ozpin hesitated, frowning. James was silent, waiting patiently. “I’m… I suppose the term I’ve found best suited for me is ‘agender’. I’m not a man, or a woman, or… anything really. I don’t have any connect to either and I deeply prefer being _seen_ as neither.”

James nodded, squeezing Ozpin’s shoulder. “Sounds perfectly fine to me,” he said. “Pronouns?”

Ozpin’s gaze swung toward James, eyes going wide. “It’s that simple?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” asked James. “You know who you are, and you’re my friend. Of course I’m going to support you and respect you.” He frowned. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Ozpin blinked, tears gathering, and gave a soft laugh before leaning forward and resting against James’ chest. James wound his arms around Ozpin’s shoulders and gave Ozpin a warm hug.

“They,” murmured Ozpin against his shoulder. “Those are my pronouns.”

“They it is,” said James, easily. “Qrow?” He looked over his shoulder and Qrow shrugged, sipping his coffee.

“No big deal to me,” he said. “Thanks, Oz, for you know, trusting us with that.”

Ozpin pulled back and wiped at their eyes, sniffling. “Now I’ve gone and made a fool of myself,” they murmured, grimacing slightly.

“Nonsense,” said James. “It’s a tough thing, no matter who you’re coming out to.” He led Ozpin back over to the stools, where James took a seat and Ozpin leaned against the counters. He took his coffee and looked at Ozpin. “And I agree with Qrow, thank you for telling us and trusting us with that.”

Ozpin gave a little shrug. “Penny made a strong case that you would be the least likely to judge of everyone in the neighbourhood.”

“The night she was here…” James trailed off.

Ozpin nodded. “That was when I told her.” They cradled their tea closely. “That was…” They sighed. “The first time I ever came out, actually.”

“How long have you known?” asked Qrow.

Ozpin hummed. “Ten years?” they guessed. “Something to that effect, anyway.”

“Christ, Oz,” said Qrow. “You kept that in you for _ten years?_ ” He shook his head and looked to James, who frowned and pressed his lips together. He agreed with Qrow whole-heartedly. That was unbelievable. “How did you live like that?”

“Full of self-hatred and whiskey, usually,” said Ozpin. They shrugged. “Though, much like you, I’ve given up drinking, as of late.”

“I never even noticed you drank,” said James, quietly.

Ozpin drummed their fingers against the counter and said, “I kept it quiet, mostly. I never wanted it to colour people’s opinions on me, and I knew it was a rather touchy subject for some.” Their gaze went to Qrow and Qrow nodded. “But yes, uh, that was the sum of what I wanted to tell you today.”

James cracked a smile at Ozpin, seeing the twitch in their gaze and their fingers. He knew it well, even if Penny displayed it a bit differently. “Would you like to talk about something else?” he asked.

“Please,” said Ozpin, sound a tad frustrated, though James suspected that was more at themself than at him and Qrow. “You two seem to be going strong, hm?”

James pinked; Qrow chuckled; Ozpin cracked a bit of a grin at the pair. They chatted for a while, passing jokes and anecdotes, and, as they did, James watched Ozpin slowly relax and return to their usual self.

It was a simple enough change to make, and James was happy to fully support his friend in their want to be themself. He wondered if Ozpin would eventually tell the entire neighbourhood.

But, for now, it was him, Qrow, and Penny. And, based on Qrow’s jokes and Ozpin’s laughter, Oz was happy enough with that outcome.

And James was happy for them.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love!


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